Scottish Executive

Air Services

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has been in contact with the Civil Aviation Authority, airports or the operator regarding the Inverness to Gatwick air route and, if so, whether it has received any assurances regarding the maintenance of the route.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive meets airport operators including the operator of Inverness airport, as well as airlines, on a regular basis to discuss a variety of issues including the Inverness-Gatwick route. The Executive has had no contact with the Civil Aviation Authority, which has no role in slot allocation, on the specific issue of the Inverness-Gatwick route. The Executive has no evidence that British Airways (BA) intends to use the Gatwick slots, which are currently used for the Inverness service, for another purpose.

Ambulance Service

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11828 by Susan Deacon on 8 January 2001, when it expects it to reach a final conclusion on the recommendations in connection with the closure of emergency control rooms submitted by the Scottish Ambulance Service in December 2000.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive has now advised the Scottish Ambulance Service that it should prepare a full business case for the proposed changes to its emergency service control rooms following the recent review. The Executive expects to receive the full business case later this year, and will reach a final decision on the basis of this further information.

Asylum Seekers

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why it did not provide the specific information on issues relating to asylum seekers, refugees and the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 requested in questions S1O-2628, S1W-6472, S1W-6475, S1W-3792, S1W-1981, S1W-1983, S1W-3650, S1W-3649, S1W-2542, S1W-1167, S1W-1166, S1W-142, S1W-163 and S1W-58 and whether the information requested in these questions was withheld at the request of Her Majesty’s Government under paragraph 11 (a) of the Memorandum of Understanding and supplementary agreements between the United Kingdom Government, Scottish Ministers and the Cabinet of the National Assembly for Wales.

Jackie Baillie: Discussions between the Scottish Executive and the UK Government are normally conducted on a confidential basis. As stated in paragraph 11 of the Memorandum of Understanding, the principle that each administration will wish to ensure that the information that it supplies to others is subject to appropriate safeguards in order to avoid prejudicing its interests is strictly adhered to.

Enterprise

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to support the Angus economy.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Scottish Enterprise Tayside are pursuing a wide range of activities to support the Angus economy, acting in partnership with Angus Council and other organisations and agencies. These activities include providing assistance to help the growth of local businesses, carrying out environmental improvement works to enhance the attractiveness of Angus as a visitor destination and business location, providing sites and premises for businesses, promoting and providing learning opportunities and skills training for people in Angus, and also providing careers counselling, assistance and retraining for people who have been made redundant.

Finance

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Executive’s draft budget for 2003-04 will require any use of its tax-varying power.

Henry McLeish: No.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Alex Fergusson (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it envisages any changes in the financial assistance available to small businesses following its recent impact study of the effect of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Executive has already announced a number of measures and has made available significant resources to help alleviate the immediate hardship and distress being experienced by individuals and businesses as a result of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak. These include an additional £5 million for the enterprise networks to ensure that advice and support is made available to affected businesses and individuals.

Forestry

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to establish a Scottish forestry forum.

Rhona Brankin: I have asked the Forestry Commission to invite different groups with an interest in the social, economic and environmental benefits of forestry, to participate in a Scottish forestry forum. Key tasks of the forum will be to promote discussion about how to maximise the social, economic and environmental benefits of forestry in Scotland; to consider how Scottish forestry can best contribute to the wider rural development agenda in Scotland, and to ensure that successful progress is made in taking forward the Scottish forestry strategy. The forum will also have a role in disseminating information about implementation of the strategy; identifying areas where more effort is needed, and, when the time comes in three or four years time, assisting with the review of the strategy. The forum will probably meet about once a year and it will be supported by a steering group that will meet more frequently.

Further Education

Ian Jenkins (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the current formula used to fund further education colleges has any adverse effect on those colleges with a limited pool of potential students.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Further Education Funding Council supports widening access but it does not set college growth targets, or consequent funding allocations, beyond what individual colleges indicate they can realistically achieve.

Further Education

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it is addressing the child care needs of lone parents seeking to attend college or university.

Ms Wendy Alexander: From this year, lone parents in full-time higher education will be able to claim a grant of £1,000 per year to help them meet their formal child care costs. This is the first ever child care grant for students in higher education in Scotland and is expected to benefit 3,500 lone parent students each year. These students will continue to be eligible to receive the existing dependants’ grant and the new school meals grant, also being introduced this year.

  In addition, as part of the new package of student support introduced for full-time higher education students this year, new mature students will be able to access a discretionary grant of up to £2,000 from the Mature Students’ Bursary Fund through their college or university. Priority for payments from the fund will be given to students who have formal child care needs, particularly those who are lone parents.

  £7.5 million has also been allocated over the next three years to widen child care provision in Scottish further education colleges to meet locally-identified needs, particularly those of lone parents. This is expected to help between 3,000 and 5,000 full- and part-time students annually and to ensure that further education is genuinely accessible to all. This funding is in addition to the existing £3 million per annum support for the study-related child care costs of FE students.

Genetically Modified Crops

Mr John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the site-specific risk assessment, the appropriate assessment and all information that pertains to its recent decision to grant consent to the release of genetically modified oilseed rape at Roskill Farm, Munlochy, Ross-shire.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive routinely places information relevant to applications for GM releases on the public register. Site-specific risk assessments for the crop being grown this winter at Munlochy are on the register and individual assessments of various aspects of the release by the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment, the Health and Safety Executive, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Food Standards Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency have also been made public.

Government Services

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what specific steps it is taking, as part of its digital Scotland initiative or otherwise, to ensure that the elderly are able to access and benefit from e-government developments.

Peter Peacock: The Executive’s 21st century government agenda is a citizen focussed approach aimed at providing better public services for everyone, in ways that meet the needs of users not the providers. Our efforts are geared towards benefiting all sectors of the population, regardless of age, background, status or location, and to including those most at risk of social exclusion. Key aims are to improve the accessibility and the responsiveness of services.

  The Scottish Executive is supporting the development of a multi-channel approach, including iDTV, internet and WAP and recognises that the telephone remains the most popular communication route for most purposes.

  The Executive has already provided £26 million in direct support through the modernising government fund for more than 30 projects across Scotland which involve innovative ways of improving access to public services, including for example kiosks, one-stop shops and call centres. The potential contribution to social inclusion was one important criterion used in deciding which projects were successful in gaining funding.

Health

Mr Michael McMahon (Hamilton North and Bellshill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to tackle coronary heart disease.

Susan Deacon: The coronary heart disease/stroke task force’s report, received by the Scottish Executive recently, covers a wide range of work, from primary prevention to cardiac rehabilitation. The Executive is now carrying out a comprehensive consultation exercise to help us draw up our first coronary heart disease/stroke strategy.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to extend the use within the NHS of minimally invasive therapies.

Susan Deacon: Medical training in Scotland allows surgeons to make use of minimally invasive surgery wherever appropriate. The decision to adopt such an approach depends on the clinical condition of the patient and the outcome of the discussion between patient and clinician on the type of surgery best suited to treating the patient’s condition.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to combat the problems associated with the increasing resistance of bacteria to antibiotics.

Susan Deacon: Following the launch of a UK antimicrobial resistance strategy last year, the Executive issued publicity materials to increase awareness of this issue. These included posters and leaflets, which were circulated widely to GP practices, dental practitioners and pharmacists to help bring the issue to the attention of the general public. At that time, the Executive also issued a draft action plan for Scotland, covering issues such as surveillance, prudent antimicrobial use in human, animal and agricultural practice, and infection control. This document is currently being reviewed in the light of comments received, and a final version will be issued to a wide range of interests later this year.

  A sub-group of the Advisory Group on Infection produced proposals for the surveillance of hospital acquired infection (HAI) in Scotland. These formed the basis for the national surveillance system for Scotland, which was announced on 6 August. Proposals for the surveillance of antimicrobial resistance patterns will follow later this year. The Executive is working with other UK Departments to take forward plans to tackle the issue of antimicrobial use in the animal field.

  The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) is currently funding five research projects with a total value of £452,226 into the resistance of bacteria to antibiotics.

Housing

David McLetchie (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Her Majesty’s Treasury in relation to Glasgow City Council’s housing debt in light of the proposed transfer of the council’s housing stock to Glasgow Housing Association.

Jackie Baillie: The Executive has undertaken to ensure that, where proposals represent good value for money and are selected to proceed, resources will be made available to deal with any residual housing debt of those councils who transfer all their housing stock into community ownership. The arrangements for fulfilling this commitment are under discussion with individual councils and HM Treasury.

Land Reform (Scotland) Bill

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in analysing the 3,500 representations received during its consultation on the draft Land Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Mr Jim Wallace: Good progress is being made. The issues raised are being considered, prior to decisions on what changes should be made to the draft Bill, which will be introduced to Parliament later this year.

Land Reform (Scotland) Bill

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the community right to buy proposals in the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill, whether this right will be demand-led and, if so, what its policy will be if the land fund resources become exhausted and there is a backlog of applications.

Mr Jim Wallace: The draft Land Reform (Scotland) Bill places no limit on the number of land registrations which can be made by community bodies.

  The new opportunities fund’s Scottish land fund is one possible source of funding for community land purchases. Any future allocations beyond the land fund’s current £10 million budget can be considered in the light of experience of its operation.

Less Favoured Areas

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the work of the group set up to investigate the impact of the Less Favoured Areas Support Scheme is proceeding according to schedule and, if not, whether it will change the level at which the safety net will operate in 2002 from 80 per cent to 90 per cent.

Ross Finnie: I am grateful to members of the less favoured areas support scheme (LFASS) steering group for the work they are doing reviewing the scheme. This work was held up initially until most of the payments had been finalised. It is now back on schedule.

  I believe there are good grounds to justify applying the 90 per cent safety net in 2002. I will press Commissioner Fischler very hard indeed to agree to this.

Local Government

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met representatives of Scottish BORDERs Council and what issues were discussed.

Angus MacKay: There have been a number of recent meetings between Scottish BORDERs Council and officials of the Scottish Executive and associated agencies at which various routine business matters have been discussed.

Local Government

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Finance and Local Government last met COSLA, what issues were discussed and when he next plans to meet COSLA.

Angus MacKay: I met representatives of COSLA on 3 May to sign the local government partnership framework.

  I am meeting COSLA on 26 September to discuss local government finance.

Local Government Finance

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to allowing Glasgow City Council to retain all business rates collected in the city.

Angus MacKay: Income from business rates is one element of central government support for local authorities, which is distributed according to councils’ relative needs. Allowing Glasgow City Council to retain all the business rates it collected would result in a corresponding reduction in the grant paid to the council.

MMR Vaccine

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-2606 by Susan Deacon on 30 November 2000, whether children who are immune-suppressed in mumps, measles and rubella fall into the clinical category where single vaccines could be made available.

Susan Deacon: The health department’s publication "Immunisation against Infectious Disease 1996", states that MMR vaccine should be given irrespective of a history of measles, mumps or rubella infection. If there is any doubt about a child’s immunity to mumps, measles or rubella, MMR vaccine should be given since there are no ill effects from vaccinating individuals who are already immune.

  It also advises that children with untreated cancer or diseases of the immune system, those receiving immunosuppressive therapy or high dose steroids should not have live viral vaccines, i.e. MMR or single vaccines.

Police

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) fixed site and (b) mobile unit speed cameras it currently funds, calibrates and maintains, broken down by police force area; how much it cost to fund, calibrate and maintain such cameras in 2000-01; how much was raised through fines by these cameras in this period and whether this money is retained by it or passed to HM Treasury.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive is responsible for the maintenance for 94 Gatso and 45 loop or subsurface sensor type speed camera sites on the trunk road network in the following police force areas:

  


Central 
  

7 loop sites 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

13 sub-surface sensor sites 
  



Grampian 
  

28 Gatso sites 
  



Lothian and BORDERs 
  

45 Gatso sites 
  



Northern 
  

10 loop sites 
  



Tayside 
  

21 Gatso sites 
  


 

15 loop sites. 
  



  The police have been supplied with cameras for both types of site. The Executive pays only for the maintenance of 21 cameras for Gatso sites held by Tayside, Grampian and Lothian & BORDERs police. The Executive does not meet the cost of maintaining any cameras for the sub-surface sensor sites.

  The cost paid by the Executive to maintain these cameras and sites in 2000-01 was £20,040. The cost of operating them is met by the police.

  In addition to these sites and cameras on the trunk road network, local authorities and police forces have cameras and camera sites on local roads.

  Figures are not held for fixed penalties and fine income generated by camera locations on the trunk road network alone. However, across Scotland in 1999, an estimated 51,000 police conditional offers were made for speeding offences which had been automatically detected, of which an estimated 83 per cent were paid, (approximating to £1,705,000). Figures for 2000 are not yet available.

  Local authorities retain a 10 per cent handling charge for fixed penalty notices, the remainder being remitted to the Treasury. In Glasgow, a pilot scheme allows the police and local authority to retain money raised through fixed penalties to fund additional enforcement activity.

Rail Services

Bristow Muldoon (Livingston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has submitted advice to the Strategic Rail Authority on the extension to the east coast mainline passenger rail franchise.

Sarah Boyack: At the end of last week I submitted advice to the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) on the extension of the east coast mainline franchise, and I have requested the SRA to take account of the advice in discussions with GNER. The focus during the extension period will be to deliver early benefits for passengers in Scotland, such as better performance, rolling stock and passenger facilities.

  I am placing copies in the Parliament’s reference centre (Bib. number 15773).

Scottish Arts Council

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will support the campaign to relocate the Scottish Arts Council to Inverness.

Allan Wilson: The Executive’s forthcoming quinquennial review of the Scottish Arts Council will consider and make recommendations to ministers on the most appropriate geographic location for that body.

Scottish Executive Staff

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the Scottish Executive staff who are currently on loan to other organisations are having their salaries or other remuneration paid by (a) it and (b) the receiving organisation and what the total cost to the Scottish consolidated fund is.

Angus MacKay: The number of staff currently on loan to other organisations is 35. Staff on loan move to the pay systems of the receiving organisation with full salary costs met by that organisation. There is no cost to the Scottish consolidated fund.

Scottish Natural Heritage

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost of countryside management agreements, and in particular access agreements, administered by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has been since the inception of SNH.

Mr Jim Wallace: This is a matter for Scottish Natural Heritage. The information requested is not held centrally.

Tourism

Iain Smith (North-East Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to review the effectiveness and value for money of VisitScotland’s Ossian website.

Mr Alasdair Morrison: I have no plans to undertake such a review. Potential visitors expect to obtain information via the world wide web. The VisitScotland website contains details of around 18,000 businesses. In the first six months of this year, it received over 3 million user sessions.

Transport

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how and where the net change of £25 million over the period 2001-02 to 2003-04 announced by the Minister for Finance and Local Government on 28 June 2001 will be made within the transport budget and what projects will lose funding as a result, broken down by local authority area.

Sarah Boyack: The adjustments to the transport programme, which are to fund other Executive priorities, are set out in the table. The SPT adjustment will bring provision in line with payments due under the franchise and is not expected to affect operations and services. I am also confident that the small reductions made to the roads programme and on the Integrated Transport Fund will not have a significant impact on the delivery of our transport priorities. The additional funding will be used to fund a pilot scheme for child pedestrian training and to assist with modernisation of the road haulage industry. Funding will be allocated to schemes across Scotland and is not broken down by local authority area.

  


Programme 
  

2001-02
(£ million) 
  

2002-03
(£ million) 
  

2003-04
(£ million) 
  



Motorways and Trunk Roads 
  

- 
  

-5 
  

-10 
  



Strathclyde Passenger Transport 
  

- 
  

-5 
  

-5 
  



Integrated Transport Fund 
  

- 
  

- 
  

-5 
  



Other Transport Programmes 
  

+1 
  

- 
  

+4 
  



Net Change 
  

+1 
  

-10 
  

-16

Transport

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authority transport programmes will be affected by the £25 million net change in the transport budget over the period 2001-02 to 2003-04 announced by the Minister for Finance and Local Government on 28 June 2001.

Sarah Boyack: Local authority programmes will not be affected by the changes to the Executive’s transport budget.

Transport

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how the £5 million for road safety projects announced by the Minister for Finance and Local Government on 28 June 2001 will be allocated, broken down by local authority area and by project.

Sarah Boyack: The statement of 28 June committed £5 million for key priorities across the transport programme. We propose to allocate £25,000 of this money in the current year, and a further £200,000 in 2003-04 to a pilot child pedestrian training scheme. No decisions have yet been taken on which areas will participate in the pilot projects.

Transport

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how the £5 million for road safety projects announced by the Minister for Finance and Local Government on 28 June 2001 will be sourced in the light of the £25 million net change in the transport budget over the period 2001-02 to 2003-04, broken down by local authority area, project and amount.

Sarah Boyack: The statement of 28 June committed £5 million for key priorities across the transport programme. This money has been allocated as part of the realignment of the Executive’s overall budget.

Transport

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been allocated for transport grants in each of the next three financial years; what projects will be supported, and how much each project will receive, broken down by local authority area.

Sarah Boyack: Funding for grant schemes across the transport programme was detailed in the Scottish Executive’s annual expenditure report published on 30 March 2001. The funding available to particular schemes and the amounts allocated to individual projects will continue to be announced as these decisions are taken.

Transport

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much, in both real and cash terms, was allocated to transport in each year since 1997.

Sarah Boyack: The information is set out in the table. It excludes expenditure by local authorities.

  


Allocations (£ million) 
  

1997-98 
  

1998-99 
  

1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  

2001-02 
  



Cash terms 
  

215.6 
  

208.1 
  

253.5 
  

313.4 
  

985.3 
  



Real terms 
  

231.1 
  

216.8 
  

258.3 
  

313.4 
  

961.3 
  



  Notes:

  1. Real terms figures are shown at 2000-01 baseline.

  2. Figures from 2000-01 include provision for Bus Fuel Duty Rebate.

  3. Figures from 2001-02 include provision for Rail Services in Scotland.

  4. Figures for 2001-02 onwards are stated in resource accounting terms.

Transport

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total allocation through the Barnett formula for transport in Scotland was in each year since the formula’s inception, in both real and cash terms.

Angus MacKay: The Barnett formula provides consequentials of increases in spending in comparable UK programmes. It is for Scottish ministers to allocate funding across all the Executive’s programmes, including transport, within the resources available.

Waste Management

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in the review of radioactive waste management policy.

Rhona Brankin: Together with the United Kingdom Government and the other devolved administrations we are launching a public consultation which will lead to decisions on a long-term management strategy for radioactive waste. An initial consultation document, "Managing Radioactive Waste Safely", seeks views on how to promote public debate, on a proposed programme for reaching decisions and on the form of an independent advisory body.

  I am arranging for copies of the consultation document to be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. The document may also be obtained from:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/views/views.asp